Chapter 6

"Where am I?" he thought. It was dark, wherever he was. He couldn't see a thing. That should have terrified him, but it didn't. For some reason, he couldn't bring himself to feel fear. He felt empty, as empty as the darkness surrounding him. Slowly, he felt the darkness change. It receded, revealing that he was in a room of some sort. He didn't know where he was or why he was here. Questions stabbed at his mind:

"How did I get here?"

"Why can't I remember anything?"

"What am I?"

"Who am I?"

His head ached. He tried to focus his thoughts, to remember anything from his past, but he was met with hazy images that weren't clear. Looking down at himself, he saw that he was a… flower? Yes, flower, that was the word. Why was he a flower? Looking around the room, he saw that he was alone.

"Alone… why am I alone? Why am I like this?"

The questions just lingered in his mind with no answers presenting themselves. Then, he noticed the pool of blood. He had apparently sprouted from it. He didn't know why it was here, yet it seemed familiar somehow.

Suddenly, pain shot through his head. Flashes of memory flew through his mind. A girl sobbing, a black figure, a scythe, blue flame, blood, then pain, excruciating pain. He had come here, for the girl? Yes, she was his friend and he'd come to help her. And he had failed. He was supposed to save her, and now she was gone.

That thought filled him with emotion for the first time: grief, anger, sadness… and despair. What good was he? He had let his best friend die. He couldn't even remember her name. He was a useless plant now, unable to do anything except suffer. And that's exactly what he deserved, too.

A sound jerked him out of his thoughts: a small whisper, barely audible. "Asriel…"

The name brought more memories back. He was a god, or at least he had been. He knew who he was now, but that only made him feel more inadequate. Some prince of the gods he was, he couldn't even protect the people he cared about.

He looked around the room, but there was no one with him. Did he imagine that voice just now? Then he heard it again, stronger this time. "Asriel…"

"Who are you? What do you want?" he asked the empty air. A few moments passed before the voice replied, "You don't recognize my voice? It's me, your best friend."

Flashes of memory crashed through his mind again. This time, a name burned in his head.

"Ch- Chara? Is that you?" he asked.

"Finally, you remembered," the voice replied.

As he continued to look around the room, he saw something moving in the shadows. A girl seemed to materialize out of them. His memory was still cloudy, but he was certain this was the girl he was supposed to save. Chara…. his best friend, his sister. He thought he had lost her forever, but here she was. And yet, why didn't he feel anything? He should be happy, right? So why didn't he feel happy?

She looked different then he remembered. She was clothed entirely in black, and her eyes were filled with darkness. She wasn't standing, but hovering a few inches off the floor. The happy cheerful face he had remembered was replaced by a face of bitterness and suffering.

"Chara? What's going on? I thought you died! Why are you here? What happened?" he asked.

"What happened? I'll tell you what happened. I was betrayed. I served you and the other gods faithfully my entire life and what did I get in return? A painful death, that's what. You sent the God of Death to kill me!" she replied. Shadows shot forth from her body and wrapped themselves around him.

"What? No, I would never…" he stammered.

"Spare me," spat Chara. "You really expect me to believe that the king's son had no idea what was going on?"

"I'm serious, I don't know anything about a God of Death! You have to believe me! I came to help you didn't I?"

Chara seemed to consider that for a moment. The shadows slowly released him and crept back towards her body. "Yes, I suppose you did. You failed though, so it's not like it matters. Look at me! I've been reduced to a fragile spirit barely able to interact with the world. The wounds that Death left me with burn with pain, and now I'm cursed to suffer."

Her words only deepened the despair he already felt. She might not be dead, but she had been cursed with a fate that was almost worse, and it was still his fault. Tears began to fill his eyes.

"Oh, are you going to start crying now? You always were a crybaby when we were younger. You know, I came here to get revenge on you for your part in all of this, but I guess none of it is technically your fault. Still, a big crybaby like you is of no use to me. Goodbye, Asriel."

"Wait!" he half sobbed. "Please don't leave me alone!"

"Why should I stay?" she asked. "I'm going to get back at everyone who did this to me, and if all you're going to do is sit there and cry I'll never get anything done."

"But, Chara, how are you even going to get revenge? You can't fight Dad, let alone kill him! You aren't strong enough, and he's immortal anyway."

"That's where your wrong, little brother. I've found a new master, one who will give me the strength to destroy my enemies, human and god alike. I'm going to rid this world of all who oppose me and make it a better place."

Asriel was stunned. What she had said defied all he had ever known, had ever been taught, and yet he was certain she wasn't lying. Furthermore, a part of him agreed with her. The thought that his parents had lied to her, and him, and stabbed them both in the back was ludicrous, but how else could he explain what had happened?

"This is all that God of Death's fault," he thought to himself. "If he hadn't attacked Chara none of this would have happened!"

Then he remembered something else. They had only exchanged a few words, but he remembered what the God of Death had told him right before he attacked. He had only been doing his job. His job… and Asriel could think of only one person who could give orders to a god. His father must have been the one who sent him.

This realization only made his despair grow larger, but now there was something else: anger. A small cinder of rage that slowly began to fill him with purpose. He stopped crying.

"Wait!" he shouted. As he spoke numerous roots and vines erupted from the ground. They were covered in thorns and spread out over the floor.

"Take me with you," he said, his voice determined. "I'm still a god, and I still have power. They betrayed me too, so I'll help you get your revenge. No, our revenge."

Chara's eyes narrowed. "Maybe you have a little backbone after all. You understand what I'm going to do right? If you try to back out or betray me I'll kill you where you stand."

"I understand completely."

"Hmm, alright then. You can come with me. We'll get our revenge together, as partners. Don't let me down Asriel."

"I won't. And I'm no longer Asriel. I won't use the name given to me by those that betrayed us."

"Well I need to call you something." Looking at his new form, she smiled. "How about Flowey? Flowey the flower."

He thought about it for a moment, then nodded. "I like it. Thank you, partner."

Chara smiled even wider. "You're welcome. Come, we have much to do."

She turned to the shadows from where she had emerged, but she paused and looked back at him.

"One more thing," she said. "You do know what you have to do if someone gets in our way, right?"

"Yes," Flowey replied. "From now on, in this world… it's kill or be killed."